A Message from the GEYC to Mrs. Susan Mubark
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We, the students of twenty two countries gathered here in Alexandria under your Excellency’s patronage for the Global Environmental Youth Convention 2004, would like to send you our warmest greetings and sincere thanks for your support of this convention, which is taking place in the wonderful facilities of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in an outstanding atmosphere of international friendship, creativity and cooperation.
Your longstanding dedication to education has ensured that your recognition internationally as a champion for learning and education in Egypt and around the world. Without your vision and support, this unique event in Alexandria on the theme Environment, Peace and Culture could not have taken place.
The three hundred students gathered here for the convention at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina have already completed six months of an integrated education program through distance learning, focusing on preventive environmental strategies. Part of this program were research projects aimed at finding solutions to environmental problems in their local environment. During the convention the students have had the opportunity to share ideas and experiences from these projects with peers from around the world, as well as attend lectures and workshops for five days (11-15 September 2004).
The convention used an innovative Knowledge Café format for the workshops. This approach has enabled the participating students to merge their ideas and experiences into a substantive outcome. We aspire to generate new ideas that will constitute the final declaration of the convention.
The Alexandria Declaration will then be communicated to decision-makers, business leaders and organizations around the world. It is our hope that some of our visions and ideas will be followed-up and implemented in future cooperation between our countries, as well as curricula development for environmental education in each country.
The global Environmental Youth Convention is an important part of the necessary international capacity-building and partnership efforts for sustainable development, which were highlighted at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg 2002. We also believe that the integrated education program we have taken part in, can make a significant contribution to the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development 2005-2014.
It is with great honor and appreciation that we reiterate to Your Excellency our deepest thanks for your patronage. We would also like to extend our thanks to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the Arab Academy for Science and Technology, the Swedish Institute in Alexandria and the Ministry of Environmental Affairs in Egypt, that have all provided us with such great support and generous hospitality during our visit to Egypt.
The Student Delegates to the Global Environmental Youth Convention,
Alexandria, September 11-15, 2004